Whiskey Lullaby
by humanoidaspect
Summary: "But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind.." Miz/Eve, slight mention of Ted/Eve. AU.


**A/N: Well, hello there! As you can tell, this is a song fic, YAY. It's to the song "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley & Allison Krauss. This really just came into my head and wouldn't stay out, so I decided to just write and this is where it took me. It contains character death, and if you've heard the song, you'd know that. The pairing is Miz/Eve with slight Eve/Ted. AU. And uh, this is dedicated to my very close friends Autumn, who really helped with this story, Sam, Malorie, and Chrissy. Okay, awesome.**

You'll always look for perfection in life. The perfect job, the perfect child, the perfect grade, and the perfect woman. And a young Michael Mizanin thought he found it in the beautiful Eve Torres. They were deeply in love. Everything about Eve was amazing. Her lips, her hair, her laugh and the best part? Her smile. It could light up the darkest night, and on one fateful night, it really had to. It was their final night together before he was sent off to the recruits, and he was having some final doubts about everything.

"Eve.." he whispered as they laid underneath the big willow tree near her house, "do you think you're gonna love me forever?"

"Forever and a day, Michael. I'll love you until my dying day, and even when I'm gone? I know I'll love you then." she said quietly, tears spilling down her cheeks. Wrapping his arms around her, Mike just sat and held her for the last time.

_She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette_

_She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget_

_We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time_

_But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind_

_Until the night.._

Loving him forever was clearly no longer on her mind as she laid in bed with the very rich and very rude Ted DiBiase. But the truth was? She felt lonely without him. She tried to be strong, she really did.. but she couldn't do it any longer. Just once wasn't a bad thing, right? Mike would never know unless Ted opened his mouth, and she higher doubted he would since he was in his own relationship. But she never expected Mike's very sudden homecoming, and when he found her in bed with him, giggling all the way, he threw a vase and went silent. She expected him to scream, to cuss, to do anything, but it was just.. silent. And once that unfortunate night was over, all he ever was was silent towards her. He found something new to love. The bottle.

He never wanted it to end up like this. All he wanted was to make her happy. All he wanted was to be happy himself. A family, a house, a steady life. Watching the kids grow up, meet the grand kids and die while still in love. But obviously, it was never to be. Taking another swig from the bottle that became his best friend. After she cheated, he lost everything. His life, his friends, everything was gone to the bottle of jack that kept him company. Sleeping in the cold outside on the street was a regular thing to him. And the truth was? It would never end. It was a circle of thoughts and everything always led back to her.

_He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away her memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength he had to get up off his knees_

_We found him with his face down in the pillow_

_With a note that said I'll love her till I die_

_And when we buried him beneath the willow_

_The angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

This was it. He no longer cared, he no longer tried, and he just.. he let go. The bar wasn't anything special to him any longer, he tried to get lucky with one of the local girls but Eve's face flashed in front of him. Trying to get out of there, he pushed past a larger drunk man. The man turned and swung his fist, knocking Mike in the back up was one of the hardest feats of his life. Woozy, he started his trek home, thoughts going a million miles an hour.

He always tried to tell himself it wasn't what he wanted anymore, she was no longer the main thing in his life, but everything would always end going back to her. But as he moved towards his newly owned shack near the ill fated willow tree, he stumbled through his door, breaking it down in the process. Was he more drunk than he thought? What was happening? What he didn't know was that it was finally over. He'd never think of Eve Torres again, or anything ever again.

His hand still over the bottle, if he could just make it to his bed, he'd be home safe. Pass out and wake up the next morning to start the process all over again. But as he finally fell face down onto the pillow, he realized what was going on. It was nearly over..every pain in his life was nearly done. But he had one final thing to do. One final thing to prove. A pen and paper sat on the table next to his bed, and as he reached for them, he nearly blacked out.

"Just a little bit longer.." he whispered. "Please."

What he wrote on the paper was something the police never spoke of, but they knew who the note was about. Giving Eve the note was one of the worst things done. But his final words were the most impactful things anyone would ever read as he finally slipped into the final sleep in his life.

_The rumors flew but nobody know how much she blamed herself_

_For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath_

_She finally drank her pain away a little at a time_

_But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind_

_Until the night.._

"I'll love her 'til I die." was the note her left, and it killed Eve Torres inside more than anyone knew. The police knew it was about her and they told their wives who in turn told other women and soon, the whole town knew. But Eve no longer cared. No one really knew the extent of it all. She hated herself, she hated everything she had become. And how did she solve that problem? Turning to the exact same Mike did. Now she could see why he loved to drink. It made her numb, it helped her forget, and it was all she ever wanted now.. just to forget the world and pretend it no longer existed.

It's a vicious cycle, and as someone who saw it firsthand when it came to Mike, she should have known better. But in the end? It no longer matters. She fucked up big time, and she couldn't take it back. The best part? Everyone knew she was just as much as a drunk as Mike once was, and as years went on, she tried to cover up the whiskey stench that came from her every single time she walked by. By this time, everyone knew that she was the town slut. Sleeping with anyone who dared to come to her, and by the end of the night, she would end up calling out Mike's name in the. Until one day, she just no longer cared. She felt empty, she felt alone and she just.. she wanted everything to end.

_She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger_

_And finally drank away his memory_

_Life is short but this time it was bigger_

_Than the strength she had to get up off her knees_

_We found her with her face down in the pillow_

_Clinging to his picture for dear life_

_We laid her next to him beneath the willow_

_While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby_

After pushing another man out from her room because she saw his face, she continued to drink and drink until she noticed the bottle of pills by her bedside. Should she take them? Or should she continue to live when nothing was going to get better? Her answer was her grabbing the pills, popping them back and taking a swig from the bottle to wash them down. She just no longer cared. Sleeping with Ted was the worst mistake of her life. Hurting Mike was the worst mistake of her life. And as she began to feel that feeling of drowsiness overcoming her, she took one final sip from the bottle, and let it drop to the floor, shattering like both of their hearts had done.

Laying on her bed, her thoughts were fuzzy, but one thing was clear. Maybe she'd get to see him again, wherever she ended up going that is. She'd see his smile, hear his laugh, maybe he'd hold her. Would he have forgiven her? He might have, but now, now it was over. Eve's hand swung back, knocking over the clock and as it hit the floor, she felt her hand grasp onto the one memory she had left of him. A photo of him smiling underneath the willow tree, all his cares gone with the wind. And as she felt her eyes slowly close, Eve Torres was gone. No longer feeling like she was worthless, no longer empty, her soul floated out the open window and into the air.

_La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.._

In death, Mike Mizanin and Eve Torres had a few things in common. Both alcoholics, both pathetic, and both failures. But the number one thing that caused anyone who knew their story to tear up at, was that they were both buried next to each other under the one willow tree that held so many memories for them both. And sometimes if you looked at just the right time, you'd see the two former lovers by the tree, embracing and showing their love and soon disappearing into thin air. Some always thought it was a trick of the light, others thought it was real, but you never do really know, do you?


End file.
